Percy Sledge facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Percy Sledge
Sledge at the 2010 Alabama Music Hall of Fame Concert
Background information
Birth name	Percy Tyrone Sledge
Born	(1941-11-25)November 25, 1941 Leighton, Alabama, U.S.
Died	April 14, 2015(2015-04-14) (aged 73) Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	R&B, soul, traditional pop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1960–2014
Labels	Atlantic, Capricorn, Monument, Point Blank, Diablo, Sledgehammer, Virgin

Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1941 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song "When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 1966. It was awarded a million-selling, Gold-certified disc from the RIAA.

Having previously worked as a hospital orderly in the early 1960s, Sledge achieved his strongest success in the late 1960s and early 1970s with a series of emotional soul songs. In later years, Sledge received the Rhythm and Blues Foundation's Career Achievement Award. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

Personal life

Sledge performing on tour in 1974

Sledge married twice and was survived by his second wife, Rosa Sledge, whom he married in 1980. He had 12 children, three of whom became singers.

Death

Sledge died of liver cancer at his home in Baton Rouge on April 14, 2015, at the age of 73. His interment was in Baton Rouge's Heavenly Gates Cemetery.